Two men were fatally shot this weekend in separate incidents in Pleasant Grove and East Oak Cliff.
Dallas police were dispatched to a parking lot in the 10600 block of Seagoville Road shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday after callers reported a shooting. Responding officers discovered a victim, later identified as 31-year-old Fermin Castillo, who was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment but did not survive.
Castillo’s partner, Ruth Mariela Castillo, remembered him as “a very good man who helped everyone,” per NBC 5 DFW.
“He came to fulfill his American dream, and in four years, he did and decided as he said,” the statement continued. “He did not deserve what they did to him and we want justice, he did not deserve that cruel death that left my soul in pieces.”
If anyone can provide information about the case, they are asked to contact Det. Orlandus Bronner by phone at 214-952-5775 or by email at [email protected].
The shooting occurred in Pleasant Grove, which falls within Council Member Jaime Resendez’s District 5.
In a separate incident, a 42-year-old man named Henderson Giovonnii McCoy was fatally shot inside a home in East Oak Cliff Sunday morning.
According to a statement from the Dallas Police Department, officers were dispatched to a residence in the 1400 block of Vermont Avenue at around 7 a.m. They found one gunshot victim who died at the scene.
No further information has been released about this homicide, which is still under investigation. Anyone with any tips that may help lead police to a perpetrator is encouraged to contact DPD Det. Patty Belew at 214-422-9275 or [email protected].
McCoy was murdered in Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4, which has seen a spike in homicide offenses lately. As covered by The Dallas Express, the increase in murders prompted a public meeting with City officials, DPD commanders, and community members.
“If you see something, say something. And if you know something, do something. That is the only way we can have a community that is 365 Safe,” Arnold told attendees.
As of April 28, District 4 had seen 13 of the 69 criminal homicides logged citywide, according to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard. This represents a 44% growth year over year, the second highest amongst council districts, with Council Member Paul Ridley’s District 14 besting them all with a 100% rise due to four homicides being clocked compared to two over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, District 5 has been turning downwards in homicides, with just one logged so far in 2024, for a 50% decrease year over year. Nevertheless, the most prevalent crime seen there this year has been simple assaults, with 252 having been reported this year.
The overwhelming majority of murder victims in Dallas have been black and Hispanic boys and men. The youngest murder victim this year was just 15 years old, and the oldest was 80, per City crime data.
Efforts to curb crime in Dallas have been hindered by a longstanding staffing shortage. Although a City report called for roughly 4,000 officers to adequately ensure public safety, DPD fields only around 3,000.
The Dallas City Council approved a DPD budget of just $654 million this fiscal year, which falls considerably short of the spending levels on police seen in other high-crime jurisdictions, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
The impact of these shortfalls is most apparent in Downtown Dallas, which regularly logs considerably more crime than Fort Worth’s downtown district. Fort Worth’s city center is patrolled by a specialized neighborhood police unit and private security guards.